Home Building Projects: How To Build A Two Floor (Second Story) Shed - With a Lot of Help!

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Recently, I wrote a bit about building shelves in the 2-floor shed. I'm the guy with no "guy gene," so for me, that's a huge thing. Usually, tools are my downfall. I try to be steady and careful around them, but they sense my fear. Building those shelves was kind of like being in the audience at the circus, and the lion-tamer asks for a volunteer to stick his head in the lion's mouth. You know you shouldn't do it, but somehow, there you are, without any better sense.

It's been a few years, my memory's not all it should be, but building those shelves reminded me of the grand-daddy of all projects. This was back in the summer of 2004. Monique and I had been planning our wedding, and trying to figure out space. Without going into a lot of detail, she lives with her Mom, and can't move away. So if I wanted to marry her (and I did, passionately) then my only choice was to move in with them. At the time, I was living by myself in a 3-bedroom home, with an old trailer for extra storage. No matter what kind of closet organizer you buy, there's no way all my belongings were going to fit.

I sold what I could, junked what I could, and still had too much. The solution? Build a shed. With Mom's gracious permission, we took over a huge chunk of backyard, and bought the plans for a 17' x 17' 2-floor shed. Mainly because that was the biggest building we could shoehorn into the back yard.

So far, so good.  But here's where things bogged down.  Summer was becoming fall, time was slipping away from us, and I was deficient of the 'guy gene.'  Plans in hand, dream in mind, no bridge between the two.

Enter brother-in-law Rick.  Master carpenter extraordinaire.  We turned the plans over to him.  As soon as he was the man with the plan, things started falling into place.  Established a budget.  Took out a loan.  Monique and I talked it over, decided to borrow more than the materials cost, and offered the remainder to Rick.  This way, he could take time off from work without hurting his own income. 

We started off slow.  Rick came down on weekends and off time.  Home Depot delivered our materials.  I expected a few stacks of lumber, some sheets of plywood, maybe some other odds and ends.  Instead, it looked like we were opening a new Home Depot store!  Took over the whole driveway and part of the front yard. 

The groundwork was laid.  I didn't know how you level an area, but Rick squared it off, gridded it with twine, and we leveled one small square at a time, checking with a level as it went.  Rick brought an entire workforce with him.  My wife and his wife are sisters.  Ann, plus their teen-aged son Josh and younger son David all came along.  It was like "Family Reunion" meets "Extreme Home Makeover".  We all did what we could.  Generally, that involved saying "Rick - What do I do next?"

Put the bottom support beams in, established the frame.  One day, I came home from work, and there was a wall there!  Wow, that was cool.  It was like a crossover moment.  You know, one minute it's an idea in your head, next minute you can actually "feel" the shed arriving.  Soon there were two walls.  At 4 walls, the stairs went in.  The ceiling became 2nd level flooring.  The ribs of the roof came next.  We put a tarp over it to protect the insides until we could finish the roof.

Keep in mind, this sounds fast.  It wasn't.  It was a lot of grueling, heavy work.  Rick and Josh were the heart of that shed.  The rest of us helped, but it has to be said... most of the work was done by those two. 

About this time, disaster struck.  When we started, Monique looked up state regulations, and verified that we did not need a permit to build... as long as we were at least 4 feet from any property line.  Turns out, local regs supersede state regs.  And with a friendly tip from an anonymous neighbor, the appropriate building authorities quickly showed up and shut us down.

They told us to stop building, period.  And if we couldn't get a permit, we'd have to take it apart.  Grrr.  At that point, I felt like going all Davy Crockett on them, and re-enacting my own Alamo.  It was enough to take the wind out of my sails. 

We applied for a permit.  Turned down.  Too close to neighbors properties on two sides.  You can apply for waivers in this situation, but applying is expensive, requires signed statements from neighbors, with no guarantee you'll be granted the waiver.  What a money mill.  My government working for me.

With some research, and a super-long measuring tape, I was able to prove the back edge of the property extends some 9 feet beyond the edge of our fence.  But we were still too close on the side.  So we hired a team of guys to come in, and SHOVE the shed over by 4 feet.  This did the job.  It also left the front of our shed 4 feet beyond the lip of the base we'd built to support it's weight.  And 4 feet of framed dirt behind it.

Still, we could work around that, and built more supports.  Permit finally in hand, work resumed.  By now, it really looked like a shed.  The roof was up, and Josh in particular excelled in putting on the shingles.  He's an extremely talented martial artist, and his sense of balance was phenomenal.  I think he also enjoyed the element of risk.  To be safe, a rope was tossed all the way across the shed, and tied near the ground on opposite sides.  Then Josh looped it around his waist.  The idea was if he fell, the rope would catch him no matter which side he fell on.  Personally, I thought it would be more like a yo-yo.  He'd spin down, but not back up.  Still, it should slow his fall.  He'd arrive at the ground dizzy, but safe.  (We never got to try it out. No idea whose theory was correct.)

Finally, trim was added.  Doors installed.  All minor weatherproofing and finishing details in place.  A long and difficult job, but well done.  When I look at that shed, I see family.  I see leadership.  I see two floors of junk.  But it's MY two floors of junk, and I love it. 

Thanks go to everybody involved, but especially to our project mentor.  Rick, it would never have happened without you.

Oh, by the way - that extra four feet of framed dirt at the rear of the shed?  It's a small garden plot now.  Nothing wasted!